########################################## Table of Contents ########################################### 1. Conferences 1.1. BritGrav16, Nottingham, UK (3rd announcement) 1.2. Astro-GR@Benasque, Benasque, Spain 1.3. The Spanish-Portuguese Relativity Meeting, Lisbon 1.4. Atlantic General Relativity 2016, Halifax, Canada 2. Jobs 2.1. Postdoctoral Fellowship in Cosmology, Gravity or Astrophysics at the University of Cape Town 2.2. Postdoctoral position in theoretical cosmology at IPhT, Saclay, France 2.3. Lagrange Thesis Fellowships Institut Lagrange de Paris 2.4. Visitor, postdoc and graduate student positions at SAMSI, Raleigh, North Carolina 2.5. Postdoctoral Research Associate position in Numerical Relativity at NCSA, Urbana-Champaign 2.6. Postdoctoral position in gravitational wave data analysis at Nikhef, Amsterdam 3. News 3.1. 2016 Awards for Essays on Gravitation 3.2. Los Alamos Co-Design Summer School 2016: Kilonovae from Neutron Star Mergers 3.3. Living Reviews: "Terrestrial Gravity Fluctuations" / "Grid-based Methods in RHD and RMHD" 3.4. English translation of the last and very rare book by A. A. Friedmann (coauthored with V. K. Frederiks) 3.5. News from the Chalonge-De Vega School 3.6. 2015 GWIC Thesis Prize and 2015 Stefano Braccini Thesis Prize: Call for Nominations ============================================== 1. Conferences ============================================== 1.1. BritGrav16, Nottingham, UK (3rd announcement) --------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@GU: http://hyperspace.uni-frankfurt.de/2015/12/05/britgrav16-3/ Starting: 2016-04-04 to 2016-04-05 Location: Nottingham, United Kingdom Additional Information: http://sites.google.com/site/britgrav16/ Contact: britgrav16[AT]gmail.com Registration for BritGrav16, hosted at the University of Nottingham 4-5 April 2016, is now open. Registration deadline for UK and Eire PhD students who wish to apply for financial support is 29 January 2016. Abstract submission deadline for participants who are not applying for financial support is 14 March 2016. Conference webpage: sites.google.com/site/britgrav16 The Organisers +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1.2. Astro-GR@Benasque, Benasque, Spain --------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@GU: http://hyperspace.uni-frankfurt.de/?p=11482 Starting: 2016-06-05 to 2016-06-18 Location: Benasque, Spain Additional Information: https://members.aei.mpg.de/amaro-seoane/astro-gr-benasque Contact: pau.amaro.seoane[AT]gmail.com The study of galactic nuclei has advanced rapidly during the past few years. Observations carried out with space-borne telescopes, such as the Hubble Space Telescope, or from the ground, using adaptive optics, have allowed us to study the kinematics of stars and gas in regions reaching down to sub-parsec scales for external galaxies, and to the milliparsec range for the Milky Way. An outstanding conclusion is that dark compact objects, very probably massive black holes (MBH), with masses ranging between a million and a thousand million solar masses, occupy the centres of most galaxies for which such observations can be made. We have discovered that there exists a deep link between the central MBH and its host galaxy. Claims of detection of intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs, with masses between 100 and 10,000 solar masses) raise the possibility that these correlations extend to much smaller systems, but the strongest -if not totally conclusive- observational evidences for the existence of IMBHs are ultra-luminous X-ray sources. The origins of these IMBH are still shrouded in mystery, and many aspects of their interplay with the surrounding stellar cluster remain to be elucidated. A particularly important mode of interaction between stars and the MBH/IMBH is the disruption of stars by the strong central tidal field. This can trigger phases of bright accretion, possibly already observed in several galaxies as X-ray/UV flares. Secondly, collapsed stars such as neutron stars, white dwarves and stellar-mass black holes might be swallowed whole by the central MBH. This process is the result of a slow inspiral towards the event horizon because of the emission of gravitational waves (GWs). The detection of these small ripples of space and time constitute a unique and parallel way to probe the Universe, by reaching loci otherwise unaccessible to the photon. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1.3. The Spanish-Portuguese Relativity Meeting, Lisbon --------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@GU: http://hyperspace.uni-frankfurt.de/?p=11490 Starting: 2016-09-12 to 2016-09-15 Location: Lisbon, Portugal Additional Information: http://erep2016.tecnico.ulisboa.pt/ Contact: erep2016[AT]centra.tecnico.ulisboa.pt EREP2016: Spanish-Portuguese Relativity Meeting 2016 "100 years of the Schwarzschild solution" Lisbon, Portugal, 12-15 September 2016 http://erep2016.tecnico.ulisboa.pt/ http://sprg.tecnico.ulisboa.pt/ http://www.segre.es FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT The 2016 edition of the "Spanish-Portuguese Relativity Meeting" (EREP2016) will be held in Lisbon from 12-15 September 2016. The Spanish-Portuguese Relativity Meeting is an international conference devoted to Relativity and Gravitation which is organized every year by different members of the Spanish Society of Gravitation and Relativity (SEGRE) and of the Portuguese Society of Relativity and Gravitation (SPRG). This year, it will be hosted by the University of Lisbon. A brief historical background of the ERE can be found at http://www.segre.es/en/historia.shtml . In 2016, we celebrate the centenary of the most famous solution of the field equations, the Schwarzschild solution, and the many phenomena that it describes. The topics of the plenary lectures will revolve around three main areas of research, namely Relativistic Astrophysics and Cosmology, Mathematical Relativity, and the interface between Gravitation and Quantum Theory, and reflect the intended broad scope of the meeting. The meeting will take place at Fundacao Calouste Gulbenkian. Founded in 1956 by Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian, the Foundation promotes knowledge in the fields of the arts, science and education. Headquartered in Lisbon, the Foundation has delegations in Paris and London. Located in central Lisbon, and well connected to the subway and buses, the Foundation hosts two important museums and is surrounded by wonderful gardens, designed by Ribeiro Teles (1962/1969), and featuring some unique flora. Invited Plenary Speakers include: Manuela Campanelli (Rochester Institute of Technology, US) Joao Costa (ISCTE, Portugal) Ruth Durrer (Universite' de Geneve, Switzerland) Roberto Emparan (ICREA and Universitat de Barcelona, Spain) Paulo Freire (Max-Planck-Institute fuer Radioastronomie, Germany) Gustav Holzegel (Imperial College London, UK) Andrew King (University of Leicester, UK) David Mota (University of Oslo, Norway) Gonzalo Olmo (Universitat de Valencia, Spain) Frans Pretorius (Princeton University, US) Jacques Smulevici (Departement de Mathematiques d'Orsay, France) Patrick Sutton (Cardiff U., UK) Information regarding registration, abstract submission, accommodation and travel can be found at the web page of the conference. Looking forward to meeting all interested participants in Lisbon this September! With our best regards, Vitor Cardoso (On behalf of the local organizing committee) +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1.4. Atlantic General Relativity 2016, Halifax, Canada --------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@GU: http://hyperspace.uni-frankfurt.de/2015/12/31/atlantic-general-relativity-20... Starting: 2016-06-18 to 2016-06-24 Location: Halifax, Canada Additional Information: http://www.math.unb.ca/~gravity/agr16/ Contact: gravity.unb[AT]unb.ca First Announcement: Atlantic general relativity 2016 conference and workshop The 2016 Atlantic General Relativity Conference will be held on Thursday, June 23 to Friday, June 24 at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. As in previous years, the theme of Atlantic GR will be all aspects of classical and quantum gravity. The format will consist of several invited talks and contributed talks by anyone who wishes to speak. This year, Atlantic GR will be be preceded by a workshop hosted by the Atlantic Association for Research in the Mathematical Sciences (AARMS) collaborative research group (CRG) on the "Mathematical and physical aspects of black holes" from Saturday, June 18 to Wednesday, June 22. The workshop will also be at Dalhousie University. The bulk of the workshop will consist of invited lectures from leading experts on various aspects classical and quantum gravity delivered at a level suitable for intermediate or advanced graduate students (see website for details). The format will include ample time for discussion and collaboration. We expect funding to partially or fully subsidize accommodation in Dalhousie residence for a limited number of participants. If you wish to request this support, you must fill out the online registration form before February 15, 2016. There will be no registration fee for either the workshop or the conference. The local organizing committee consists of Alan Coley, Robert van den Hoogen and Sanjeev Seahra; the scientific organizing committee consists of Ivan Booth, Jack Gegenberg, Hari Kunduri and Viqar Husain. More information, partial speaker list, and online registration: http://www.math.unb.ca/~gravity/agr16/ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ============================================== 2. Jobs ============================================== 2.1. Postdoctoral Fellowship in Cosmology, Gravity or Astrophysics at the University of Cape Town ------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@GU: http://hyperspace.uni-frankfurt.de/?p=11419 Deadline: 2016-01-30 Location: Cape Town, South Africa Additional Information: https://inspirehep.net/record/1402676 Contact: tania.jansen[AT]uct.ac.za A postdoctoral fellowship is available in the Cosmology and Gravity Group (with Weltman) in the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. The Cosmology and Gravity Group has strong ties with the Laboratory for Quantum Gravity and Strings and the Astronomy department at the University of Cape Town. We have research expertise ranging from radio astronomy and cosmology to string theory and quantum gravity. We are involved in a broad array of experiments and observational probes of the universe including the SKA project and its pathfinder MeerKAT, the HIRAX experiment HIRAX (Hydrogen Intensity and Real-time Analysis eXperiment) as well as the IAXO (International Axion Observatory ) telescope and other local probes of dark energy, dark matter and axions. This postdoctoral fellowship will be funded by an NRF/DST South African Research Chair in Physical Cosmology. Candidates interested in theoretical cosmology and in connecting theory to observations are particularly encouraged to apply. The successful applicant will be based at The University of Cape Town, hosted by the Department of Mathematics & Applied Mathematics. There is broad scope for travel though and for collaboration both nationally and internationally. Conditions of award: - Applicants must have obtained a doctoral degree in the relevant areas of mathematics, physics or astronomy within the past 5 years, and may not have held any prior permanent academic or professional posts. - The successful incumbent may, as part of his/her professional development, be required to participate in departmental activities, such as limited teaching and supervision. - The successful incumbent will be required to comply with the universitys approved policies, procedures and practices for the postdoctoral sector. SALARY: The value of the fellowship will be a minimum of R220 000 per annum and is tax exempt. A generous allowance will be provided for international travel and research expenses on application. TENURE: The tenure of the fellowship is two years at the outset, with the possibility of extension up to five years, subject to progress and the availability of funding and compliance with all NRF rules. Cape Town is a spectacular place to live, with a range of indoor and outdoor activities, though the outdoors truly shines. We have excellent hiking, rock climbing and ocean sports all within a short distance of the university. It is a diverse and interesting city. Email address for inquiries Amanda.weltman[at]uct.ac.za . Please do not send applications or references to this address, they will not be considered. Email address for applications Tania.jansen[at]uct.ac.za Applications should include a curriculum vitae, a brief statement of research interests and a list of publications. Please arrange to have three letters of reference e-mailed to the application address. Considerations will begin on 30 January 2015, however applications will still be considered after this date until a suitable candidate is appointed. The University of Cape Town: reserves the right to disqualify ineligible, incomplete and/or inappropriate applications, and reserves the right to change the conditions of award, and/or to make no awards at all. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 2.2. Postdoctoral position in theoretical cosmology at IPhT, Saclay, France ------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@GU: http://hyperspace.uni-frankfurt.de/?p=11422 Deadline: 2015-12-13 Location: Gif-sur-Yvette, France Additional Information: https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/6644 Contact: filippo.vernizzi[AT]cea.fr The Institut de Physique Theorique (IPhT) of CEA-Saclay (France) invites applications for a postdoctoral position, starting fall 2016 or earlier, in theoretical cosmology. The appointment is for a period of 2 years with possible extension to a third year. The IPhT is located approx. 20km southwest of Paris along the RER B line, also with dedicated commuter buses to and from various locations in Paris. Members working in cosmology include Brando Bellazzini, Philippe Brax, Chiara Caprini, John-Joseph Carrasco, Patrick Valageas, Filippo Vernizzi, and several students and postdocs. Information about the research interests and activities of the group can be found on the webpage: http://ipht.cea.fr/en/Phocea-SPhT/ast_visu_spht.php?id_ast=537 ? Applications must be submitted electronically on the Academic Jobs Online website: (https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/6644) before 13th December 2015 and include a CV (including a full list of publications) and a statement of research interests. Applicants should arrange for at least three reference letters to be submitted through Academic Jobs Online . For further information and inquiries please contact any of the above members of the Institute (email address: name.surname[AT]cea.fr). +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 2.3. Lagrange Thesis Fellowships Institut Lagrange de Paris ------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@GU: http://hyperspace.uni-frankfurt.de/?p=11433 Deadline: 2016-01-18 Location: Paris, France Additional Information: http://ilp.upmc.fr/fellowships/thesis-fellowships-call-2016.php Contact: contact[AT]ilp.upmc.fr The Lagrange Institute (ILP) invites applications for the 5th class of Lagrange thesis fellowships. The new Lagrange thesis fellows are expected to start in the Fall semester of 2016. Successful candidates will have demonstrated academic excellence, outstanding potential for creative research, and leadership qualities. Lagrange thesis fellows will be immersed in an internationally visible, world-class research environment in terms of intellectual, and computational resources, an extensive visitors program, and significant involvement in the worlds leading astronomical and (astro-)particle physics projects, such as Planck, Herschel, Euclid, CFHTLS, TeraPix, BOSS, SDSS III, VIPER, Square Kilometer Array, LHC, HESS, Auger, etc. The Lagrange thesis fellows will be enrolled in a doctoral school of the Universite' Pierre et Marie Curie, part of Sorbonne Universite's, with access to intensive short courses in cutting edge areas of the field, such as dark matter and dark energy research, theoretical and experimental (astro-)particle physics, recent advances in quantum field theory and string theory. Special short courses will be offered in emerging research methods such as astrostatistics, discovery in petascale data sets, etc. The Lagrange Institute will support yearly summer or winter schools where thesis fellows can meet their future colleagues. All courses will be offered in English and taught by the leading experts in each field - either members of ILP or guest professors, including the Lagrange award holders. The list of thesis project proposals written by members of the ILP can be found in our website and below. Candidates are invited to contact their potential advisors directly before submitting their application. Applications should be submitted online by the 18h of January, 2016 and include academic history, course work, scientific interests, scholarships and honors, outside interests, purpose and goals. Candidates should arrange for 3 letters of reference to be uploaded to the web application. List of thesis project proposals: - Fundamental aspects of supergravity and string theory and applications in High-energy physics - Phenomenology of extensions of the Standard Model - High-energy astroparticles and pulsars - The origin of the Hubble sequence - Numerical and theoretical studies of particle acceleration in relativistic astrophysical outflows - Secular evolution of galaxies induced by cosmic environment - Fundamental cosmology from ultra deep sky surveys - High order correlation functions in the large-scale structure of the universe - exploitation of the Euclid mission - Constraining the nature of dark matter by probing galaxies all the way down to dwarf spheroidals - Jet calibration, cross section measurements and New Physics searches with the ATLAS experiment - Measurement of the top quark mass in dilepton channels with 13 TeV data with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC - Search for Dark Matter with the DarkSide Liquid Argon detector at LNGS - Baryon acoustic oscillations in the Lyman-alpha and Lyman-beta forests with the quasar spectra of the SDSS-IV/eBOSS survey - Search for New Physics with Muons: precision experiments for physics beyond the Standard Model - Search for light dark matter with CCDs +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 2.4. Visitor, postdoc and graduate student positions at SAMSI, Raleigh, North Carolina ------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@GU: http://hyperspace.uni-frankfurt.de/2015/12/09/visitor-postdoc-and-graduate-s... Deadline: 2015-12-15 Location: Raleigh, North Carolina (US) Additional Information: http://www.samsi.info/programs/2016-17-program-statistical-mathematical-and-... Contact: astro[AT]samsi.info We would like to announce a year-long program at the Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute (SAMSI, www.samsi.info), Raleigh, North Carolina, an NSF institute funded by the Division of Mathematical Sciences, running from August 1, 2016 to May 31, 2017, focusing on gravitational waves, cosmology, exoplanets, and synoptic surveys. The goal of this program is to bring together scientists and statisticians with the hopes of finding novel statistical solutions to tough science problems. The overall themes for the ASTRO program are: Astronomy: Gravitational Waves, Population Modeling, Exoplanets, Cosmology, and Synoptic Surveys Mathematical & Statistical: Time Series Analysis, Uncertainty Quantification, Reduced Order Modeling, Inference with Inexact Models With the following proposed working groups: Working Group I: Uncertainty Quantification and Reduced Order Modeling in Gravitation, Astrophysics, and Cosmology Working Group II: Synoptic Time Domain Surveys Working Group III: Time Series Analysis for Exoplanets & Gravitational Waves: Beyond Stationary Gaussian Processes Working Group IV: Population Modeling & Signal Separation for Exoplanets & Gravitational Waves Working Group V: Statistics, computation, and modeling in cosmology The ASTRO program leaders are G. Jogesh Babu, Jessi Cisewski, Rebekah Dawson, Eric Ford, Ben Farr, Eric Feigelson, Matthew Graham, Jeff Jewell, Tom Loredo, Ashish Mahabad, Ilya Mandel, Chad Schafer, Manuel Tiglio, and Michele Vallisneri. Participation in a working group requires remote participation in biweekly meetings. You are also highly encouraged to visit SAMSI at some point during the year, as well as the multiple workshops that will take place as part of the program. The first workshop will take place on August 24-26 2016, with the possibility of introductory tutorials on August 22-24 2016. Extended visits can be anywhere from 2 weeks to the whole program (9 months), or several shorter visits that add up to that. SAMSI will cover travel (from within US) and local lodging and transportation, up to $2500/month. Postdoctoral and graduate fellowships are also available. A second program on Optimization (OPT) will be running in parallel to ASTRO, and applications can be submitted to participate in both programs. There are a number of opportunities associated with the ASTRO program, from postdoc and graduate student fellowships to short and long term visits and participating in one or more of its working groups. For more details see http://www.samsi.info/opportunities/opportunity-types Those interested in participating as a long term visitor at SAMSI should email the Program Liaison, Sujit Gosh (ghosh[AT]samsi.info), including a CV and brief cover letter containing the name of year long program (ASTRO), your anticipated activities and interest, and the (rough) dates you anticipate visiting. The visitor list is filling quickly, so any requests for visits should be submitted as soon as possible. Postdoc SAMSI positions as part of the ASTRO program are for two years. Pending on availability of funds at the University of California San Diego (UCSD), there is the possibility of joint funding between SAMSI and UCSD, or an extended position at UCSD after the SAMSI program, on the topic of Reduced Order Modeling and Uncertainty Quantification. However, candidates should apply to SAMSI directly and contact Manuel Tiglio (tiglio[AT]ucsd.edu) to inquire about options at UCSD aligned with the SAMSI program. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 2.5. Postdoctoral Research Associate position in Numerical Relativity at NCSA, Urbana-Champaign ------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@GU: http://hyperspace.uni-frankfurt.de/2015/12/14/postdoctoral-research-associat... Deadline: 2016-02-01 Location: USA Additional Information: http://www.ncsa.illinois.edu/about/jobs/pd_numrel Contact: gdallen[AT]ncsa.illinois.edu The NCSA Astronomy and Astrophysics Group (http://astro.ncsa.illinois.edu), in close collaboration with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Astronomy Department, has diverse research interests across astrophysical phenomena and disciplines within astronomy, astrophysics and relativity, touching on theory (gravitational waves), computational (star formation, galaxy formation, numerical relativity), and observational (DES, LSST, CARMA, SKA). In addition to scientific topics, the NCSA Astronomy and Astrophysics Group is actively engaged in next- generation scientific practices, such as development of cyberinfrastructure (e.g., Cactus, yt, and Enzo), enabling open access, fostering reproducibility, and data topics spanning from the development of observational pipelines to the architecting of the National Data Service. The group is particularly interested in new science insight and challenges around multi-messenger astronomy, data synthesis and community data services. The NCSA Astronomy and Astrophysics group is composed of numerous researchers from NCSA, the Department of Astronomy and the Department of Physics. Postdocs hired under this solicitation will work most closely with Prof Ed Seidel, Prof Gabrielle Allen, Dr. Eliu Huerta and Prof Matthew Turk. The National Center for Supercomputing Applications is a leader in supercomputing as well as computational and data science. NCSA hosts the NSF-funded Blue Waters supercomputer, and leads the NSF XSEDE project. Recently, NCSA has expanded its research activities and strengthened connections to the UIUC campus through new faculty-led thematic areas, including Computing and Data Sciences, Physics and Astronomy, Bioinformatics and Health Sciences, Culture and Society, Materials and Manufacturing, and Earth and Environment. NCSA maintains an energetic visitors program and hosts regular workshops and conferences throughout the year. Responsibilities: The successful candidate will play a key role in research activities in numerical relativity around the simulation of compact binaries for the modeling and detection of gravitational wave sources with ground-based detectors. Specific responsibilities include: preparing peer-reviewed publications, participating in community-focused open source development of scientific tools (such as the Einstein Toolkit or Cactus Framework), participating in grant proposal writing, giving presentations at professional meetings. Researchers are encouraged to further their own research interests in collaboration with the broad range of projects ongoing at NCSA. Individuals experienced in developing and applying the Einstein Toolkit are especially sought. More information about the NCSA Astronomy and Astrophysics group can be found at: http://astro.ncsa.illinois.edu/. For more information about these opportunities, please contact Gabrielle Allen at gdallen[AT]ncsa.illinois.edu, or Ed Seidel at eseidel[AT]ncsa.illinois.edu. Qualifications: Applicants should have received a recent Ph.D. in Astrophysics, Physics, Computer Science, or a related field by the start of the position. Applicants should have demonstrated research skills in one or more of the research areas of the NCSA Astronomy and Astrophysics Group. Successful candidates will be evaluated on their abilities in mathematical and numerical general relativity. The appointment will last for two years and may be renewed beyond that contingent upon availability of funding and performance. Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience and relevant research. Start Date: As soon as possible and no later than September 1, 2016. Application Process: To ensure full consideration, qualified candidates must prepare: - Cover letter - Curriculum Vitae - Brief (2 page) statement of past research and future goals - Contact information of three references This information should be submitted via e-mail to gdallen[AT]ncsa.illinois.edu with the subject heading NCSA Postdoc Application by the closing date of February 1, 2016. All requested information must be submitted for your application to be considered. Incomplete information will not be reviewed. Applications may be reviewed prior to the closing date while the search may continue until the positions will be filled. The University of Illinois conducts criminal background checks on all job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent offer. Illinois is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, age, status as a protected veteran, status as a qualified individual with a disability, or criminal conviction history. Illinois welcomes individuals with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and ideas who embrace and value diversity and inclusivity (www.inclusiveillinois.illinois.edu). +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 2.6. Postdoctoral position in gravitational wave data analysis at Nikhef, Amsterdam ------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@GU: http://hyperspace.uni-frankfurt.de/?p=11464 Deadline: 2016-02-01 Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands Additional Information: https://www.nikhef.nl/en/about-nikhef/working-at-nikhef/vacatures-peoplexs/ Contact: vdbroeck[AT]nikhef.nl The Nikhef Gravitational Waves group currently has an opening for a Postdoctoral position in gravitational wave data analysis and phenomenology. Nikhef is the national institute for subatomic physics in The Netherlands. At Nikhef, approximately 150 physicists and 75 technical staff members work together in an open and international scientific environment. Together, they perform excellent theoretical and experimental research in the fields of particle- and astroparticle physics. Nikhef hosts a TheoreticalPhysics department, and several experimental research groups. Among the research collaborations Nikhef participates in are the ATLAS, LHCb and ALICE experiments at CERN, the KM3NeT neutrino telescope in the Mediterranean, the VIRGO inferometer in Pisa, the XENON dark matter experiment in Gran Sasso and the Pierre Auger cosmic rays observatory in Argentina. Nikhef itself is a collaboration between 4 major Dutch universities and the Dutch Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter (FOM). The position The gravitational physics group at Nikhef invites applications for a postdoctoral research position in gravitational wave data analysis and phenomenology. The gravitational physics group is a member of the Virgo Collaboration. It is led by prof.dr. J.F.J. van den Brand. Other than staff instrumentalists, the Nikhef group and its collaborators in the Netherlands consists of data analysts (C. Van Den Broeck and H.J. Bulten), astronomers and astrophysicists (J. Kuijpers, G. Nelemans), and theorists (J.W. van Holten and M. Postma), together with a number of students and postdocs. There is also vibrant collaboration with individuals and groups around the world. The Nikhef group itself will expand significantly over the next several years. More information about our activities can be found at http://www.nikhef.nl/en/for-nikhef-users/departments/scientific-departments/.... The successful candidate will participate in the analysis of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo data, and in the development of new methods for the scientific exploitation of future gravitational wave detections, with a focus on the coalescence of compact binary systems composed of neutron stars or black holes. Applicants should expect to have their PhD by May 2016. Offer The position is for two, and possibly three years. The candidate will be employed by the FOM-foundation and will obtain the status of postdoctoral researcher. Your gross monthly salary will be between 3.200, to 3.600, EUR depending on the experience you bring with you. The conditions of employment are excellent and include extra months' salary payments in May and December and good travel facilities. The conditions of employment of the FOM-foundation can be found at www.fom.nl Information and applications Qualified applicants are encouraged to apply. Please be prepared to upload a cover letter, publication list and curriculum vitae including a brief description of your research interest. Also, please have the email addresses of at least three referents ready, who are willing to send a letter of recommendation on your behalf. Further information on these positions can be obtained from dr. C. Van Den Broeck (vdbroeck[AT]nikhef.nl). The deadline for applications and related materials is February 1st, 2016. Later applications will be considered as well until the positions are filled. To apply, please follow this link: https://www.nikhef.nl/en/about-nikhef/working-at-nikhef/vacatures-peoplexs/ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ============================================== 3. News ============================================== 3.1. 2016 Awards for Essays on Gravitation ------------------------------------------------------------ Announcement on Hyperspace@GU: http://hyperspace.uni-frankfurt.de/2015/12/03/2016-awards-for-essays-on-grav... Additional Information: http://www.gravityresearchfoundation.org 1949 - 2016 SIXTY-SEVEN YEARS GRAVITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION PO BOX 81389 WELLESLEY HILLS MA 02481-0004 USA 2016 Awards for Essays on Gravitation In 2016, for our sixty-seventh competition, the trustees of the Gravity Research Foundation are offering five awards for short essays for the purpose of stimulating thought and encouraging work on gravitation. The stipulations follow. (1) We will make these Awards on May 15, 2016 for the best well-written essays, 1500 words or fewer (excluding abstracts, diagrams, tables, references and a minimal number of equations), on the subject of gravitation, its theory, applications, or effects. (2) The First Award will be $4000.00 The Second Award will be 1250.00 The Third Award will be 1000.00 The Fourth Award will be 750.00 The Fifth Award will be 500.00 (3) Essays must be in English and e-mailed in a single PDF file before April 1, 2016. One essay only will be accepted from each author. Notify us within 24 hours if you do not receive an e-mail confirmation of your submission. (4) Title pages should include essay title; authors names, e-mail and mailing addresses; submission date; an abstract of 125 words or less; and the statement: Essay written for the Gravity Research Foundation 2016 Awards for Essays on Gravitation. Pages should be numbered and the corresponding author specified where necessary. (5) The decision of the judges will be final and no reviews or comments will be provided. (6) Please check the winners announcement to be posted on our website: www.gravityresearchfoundation.org around May 15, 2016. We will also attempt to send all participants a general e-mail notification. (7) The five award-winning essays will be published in a special issue of the International Journal of Modern Physics D (IJMPD). Authors of essays designated Honorable Mention will be invited to submit their essays to the IJMPD where these may undergo additional refereeing at editorial discretion for possible publication. Authors of all other essays are free and encouraged to publish their essays after May 15th. Submission e-mail address: George M. Rideout, Jr., President, grideoutjr[AT]aol.com Recent First Award Winners: 2015 - Gerard t Hooft, Utrecht University & Spinoza Institute, the Netherlands 2014 - Lawrence M. Krauss, Arizona State University and Frank Wilczek, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 2013 - Baocheng Zhang, Qing-yu Cai, Ming-sheng Zhan, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan and Li You, Tsinghua University, Bejing, PR China 2012 - Claus Kiefer & Manuel Kraemer, University of Cologne, Koeln, Germany 2011 - Ivan Agullo, Penn State & Leonard Parker, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee 2010 - Mark Van Raamsdonk, University of British Columbia, Vancouver 2009 - Alexander Burinskii, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia 2008 - T. Padmanabhan, IUCAA, Pune, India 2007 - S. Carlip, University of California at Davis 2006 - Vijay Balasubramanian, University of Pennsylvania; Donald Marolf, University of California at Santa Barbara & Moshe Rozali, University of British Columbia 2005 - John Ellis, CERN; N. E. Mavromatos, Kings College London and D. V. Nanopoulos, Texas A&M University 2004 - Maulik Parikh, Columbia University, New York 2003 - Martin Bojowald, The Pennsylvania State University 2002 - Steven B. Giddings, University of California at Santa Barbara & Stanford University 2001 - Csaba Csaki & Joshua Erlich, Los Alamos National Lab & Christophe Grojean, University of California at Berkeley ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 3.2. Los Alamos Co-Design Summer School 2016: Kilonovae from Neutron Star Mergers ------------------------------------------------------------ Announcement on Hyperspace@GU: http://hyperspace.uni-frankfurt.de/2015/12/08/los-alamos-co-design-summer-sc... Additional Information: http://losalamos.github.io/cdss/index.html Dates: May - September 2016 (approximate; exact dates TBD) Location: Los Alamos, NM Application deadline: February 1, 2016 Registration is open for Co-Design Summer School which will take place at Los Alamos, NM for 10 weeks in summer 2016. The Los Alamos ISTI/ASC Co-Design Summer School will bring together top graduate students in the fields of physics, computational science and mathematics. A team of six participants will work together on solving a problem that is designed to build the skills needed to tackle the grand challenges of the future. The scientific challenge of choice this time is modeling neutron star mergers and their kilonovae -- supernova-like transients powered by radioactive decays of freshly synthesized r-process elements. Graduate students from the following disciplines are encouraged to apply: * Domain science: astrophysics, nuclear physics, general relativity * Applied Mathematics: hydrodynamics, particle methods, numerical analysis * Computer science: task & data parallelism, programming methods, data structures Please consult the following website for more information about the school, the challenge and how to apply: http://losalamos.github.io/cdss/index.html ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 3.3. Living Reviews: "Terrestrial Gravity Fluctuations" / "Grid-based Methods in RHD and RMHD" ------------------------------------------------------------ Announcement on Hyperspace@GU: http://hyperspace.uni-frankfurt.de/2015/12/15/living-reviews-in-relativity-t... Additional Information: http://www.livingreviews.org/ Living Reviews in Relativity has published a new review article on "Terrestrial Gravity Fluctuations" by Jan Harms on 2 December 2015. Living Reviews in Computational Astrophysics has published a new review article on "Grid-based Methods in Relativistic Hydrodynamics and Magnetohydrodynamics" by Jose Maria Marti and Ewald Mueller on 22 December 2015. Please find the abstracts and further details below. ---------------- PUB.NO. lrca-2015-3 Marti, Jose Maria and Mueller, Ewald "Grid-based Methods in Relativistic Hydrodynamics and Magnetohydrodynamics" ACCEPTED: 2015-12-01 PUBLISHED: 2015-12-22 FULL ARTICLE AT: http://www.livingreviews.org/lrca-2015-3 ABSTRACT: An overview of grid-based numerical methods used in relativistic hydrodynamics (RHD) and magnetohydrodynamics (RMHD) is presented. Special emphasis is put on a comprehensive review of the application of high-resolution shock-capturing methods. Results of a set of demanding test bench simulations obtained with different numerical methods are compared in an attempt to assess the present capabilities and limits of the various numerical strategies. Applications to three astrophysical phenomena are briefly discussed to motivate the need for and to demonstrate the success of RHD and RMHD simulations in their understanding. The review further provides FORTRAN programs to compute the exact solution of the Riemann problem in RMHD, and to simulate 1D RMHD flows in Cartesian coordinates. UPCOMING ARTICLES AT: http://computastrophys.livingreviews.org/Articles/upcoming.html ---------------- PUB.NO. lrr-2015-3 Harms, Jan "Terrestrial Gravity Fluctuations" ACCEPTED: 2015-11-16 PUBLISHED: 2015-12-02 FULL ARTICLE AT: http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2015-3 ABSTRACT: Different forms of fluctuations of the terrestrial gravity field are observed by gravity experiments. For example, atmospheric pressure fluctuations generate a gravity-noise foreground in measurements with super-conducting gravimeters. Gravity changes caused by high-magnitude earthquakes have been detected with the satellite gravity experiment GRACE, and we expect high-frequency terrestrial gravity fluctuations produced by ambient seismic fields to limit the sensitivity of ground-based gravitational-wave (GW) detectors. Accordingly, terrestrial gravity fluctuations are considered noise and signal depending on the experiment. Here, we will focus on ground-based gravimetry. This field is rapidly progressing through the development of GW detectors. The technology is pushed to its current limits in the advanced generation of the LIGO and Virgo detectors, targeting gravity strain sensitivities better than 10^-23 Hz^-1/2 above a few tens of a Hz. Alternative designs for GW detectors evolving from traditional gravity gradiometers such as torsion bars, atom interferometers, and superconducting gradiometers are currently being developed to extend the detection band to frequencies below 1 Hz. The goal of this article is to provide the analytical framework to describe terrestrial gravity perturbations in these experiments. Models of terrestrial gravity perturbations related to seismic fields, atmospheric disturbances, and vibrating, rotating or moving objects, are derived and analyzed. The models are then used to evaluate passive and active gravity noise mitigation strategies in GW detectors, or alternatively, to describe their potential use in geophysics. The article reviews the current state of the field, and also presents new analyses especially with respect to the impact of seismic scattering on gravity perturbations, active gravity noise cancellation, and time-domain models of gravity perturbations from atmospheric and seismic point sources. Our understanding of terrestrial gravity fluctuations will have great impact on the future development of GW detectors and high-precision gravimetry in general, and many open questions need to be answered still as emphasized in this article. UPCOMING ARTICLES AT: http://relativity.livingreviews.org/Articles/upcoming.html ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 3.4. English translation of the last and very rare book by A. A. Friedmann (coauthored with V. K. Frederiks) ------------------------------------------------------------ Announcement on Hyperspace@GU: http://hyperspace.uni-frankfurt.de/2015/12/22/english-translation-of-the-las... Additional Information: http://www.minkowskiinstitute.org/mip/books/friedmann3.html Vsevolod K. Frederiks, Alexander A. Friedmann, Foundations of the Theory of Relativity: Volume 1 Tensor Calculus (Minkowski Institute Press, Montreal 2015), 182 pages http://www.minkowskiinstitute.org/mip/books/friedmann3.html Description: To mark the 100th anniversary of Einstein's general relativity the Minkowski Institute Press publishes the first English translation of a very rare book on general relativity (its only Russian publication was in 1924), which turned out to be the last book by A. A. Friedmann (co-authored with V. K. Frederiks). This is the first and the only published volume of a five-volume book project on the foundations of the theory of relativity, brutally terminated by the untimely and tragic death of Friedmann on 16 September 1925. Despite the fact that this book was published in 1924 and despite the presence of some unconventional notions and notations in it, this is still a valuable book, because it is written by two deep thinkers, particularly Friedmann who in 1922 had the deepest understanding of the cosmological implications of Einstein's general relativity when he first showed that the Universe may expand (which was later discovered by Hubble). What also makes this book valuable is that Frederiks and Friedmann develop the formalism of tensor calculus from a physical point of view by showing why the ideas of general relativity need that formalism. In this sense the book can be even used for self-study. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 3.5. News from the Chalonge-De Vega School ------------------------------------------------------------ Announcement on Hyperspace@GU: http://hyperspace.uni-frankfurt.de/2015/12/28/news-from-the-chalonge-de-vega... Additional Information: http://chalonge.obspm.fr/ News from the Ecole Internationale Daniel Chalonge-Hector de Vega Contents: 1. Sharing Knowledge Scientific Culture 2. Page Hector de Vega 3. On line Conferences 4. Agenda 2016 1. SHARING KNOWLEDGE. SCIENTIFIC CULTURE All presentaions of the Open Automn Session Cosmic News held the 26 November 2015 at Paris Observatory are available on line here: http://chalonge.obspm.fr/Presentations_26Nov2015.html Contents: Introduction to the Session and Tribute to Hector de Vega. -The Nobel prize of Physics 2015 and Neutrinos. -Impact of Cosmic Rays on Clima : A new approach to climate studies? -Signatures and Constraints on Warm Dark Matter: star formation, 21 cm line, primeval galaxies. -Bruno Pontecorvo: pionnering work on neutrinos -Warm Dark Matter and sterile neutrinos. The crises of cold dark matter and of its baryonic cures, the crises of Wimps. -Science in face to conflicts of interests and technocracy : Quo Vadis Science ? - Compte rendu de la Session par Jean-Pierre Martin, SAF President de la Commission Cosmologie http://www.planetastronomy.com/special/2016-special/26nov/Chalonge.htm 2. PAGE HECTOR DE VEGA http://chalonge.obspm.fr/HdeV.html 3. ON LINE CONFERENCES All presentations of the year 2015 in honor of Hector de Vega, workshops, symposia, open sessions, Chalonge medal and albums of photos are available online here: http://chalonge.obspm.fr/Programme2015.html 4. AGENDA 2016 : 24 MARCH 2016: Open Session Cosmic News and openning of the Programme 2016 Hector de Vega , Paris 19 MAY 2016: Open interdisciplinary Session News from the Universe and Warm Dark Matter, Paris 15-17 JUNE 2016 Meudon, CIAS: Meudon Chalonge de Vega Workshop 2016 on WDM, historic Meudon castle 20-22 JULY2016 in Paris: Chalonge de Vega 19th Paris Cosmology Colloquium 2016, historic Perrault building 22 JULY 2016 in Paris: Summer Open Session on scientific culture: A surprise Session, historic Perrault building 13-16 OCTOBER 2016: Chalonge de Vega Turin Session 2016, Palazzo Lascaris and Accademia delle delle Scienze,Turin OCTOBER 2016: Round table: Quo Vadis Science ? Cite Internationale Universitaire, Paris 25 NOVEMBER 2016: Open Automn Session : Highlights and Conclusions 2016 and pre view of the Hector de Vega Programme 2017, Paris With Compliments and kind regards Ecole Daniel Chalonge http://chalonge.obspm.fr/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 3.6. 2015 GWIC Thesis Prize and 2015 Stefano Braccini Thesis Prize: Call for Nominations ------------------------------------------------------------ Announcement on Hyperspace@GU: http://hyperspace.uni-frankfurt.de/2015/12/31/2015-gwic-thesis-prize-and-201... Additional Information: https://gwic.ligo.org/thesisprize/ The Gravitational Wave International Committee is pleased to announce that nominations for the 2015 GWIC Thesis Prize and for the 2015 Stefano Braccini Thesis Prize are now open. Both prizes recognize outstanding PhD theses in the general area of gravitational waves. To better serve the community, GWIC and the Friends of Stefano Braccini have moved to coordinate the two Prizes. There is a common call for nominations, and all theses submitted will be considered for both awards by a joint selection committee. Two winners will be selected, with the GWIC Thesis Prize emphasizing the impact of the research on the field of gravitational wave science, while the Braccini Thesis Prize will be awarded with an emphasis on innovation. Members of the gravitational wave community are invited to nominate students who have performed notable research on any aspect of gravitational wave science. Theses will be judged on 1) originality and creativity of the research, 2) importance to the field of gravitational waves and gravitational wave detection, broadly interpreted, and 3) clarity of presentation. Each winner will receive a certificate of recognition and a prize of US$ 1,000. GWIC is privileged to nominate both thesis prize winners for publication in the book series Springer Theses. Subject to certain qualifications, Springer Theses publishes exceptional Ph.D. theses in the physical sciences in their entirety. If accepted, each winner will receive an additional 500 Euros from Springer upon publication. Eligibility: Both prizes are award on a calendar year basis. Theses should have been accepted by their institutions between 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2015. It is expected that many of the nominations will come from the member projects of GWIC, but this is not a requirement. Nominated theses may be in any language. A committee selected from the gravitational wave community will evaluate the nominations and select the winner. The selection committee will make all determinations about eligibility. Nominations: Nominations should be submitted to the selection committee chair (Maura Mclaughlin) by 15 January 2016. The nomination package consists of (i) the thesis, (ii) a letter of nomination, preferably from the thesis advisor, and (iii) a supporting letter from another scientist familiar with the work. The nomination and supporting letters should describe the importance and novelty of the research and the student's particular contribution. Electronic submission of the the thesis and letters is strongly preferred. Electronic copies of the nomination materials may be sent to Selection Committee Chair (gwic-braccini-prize AT mail.wvu.edu, with a copy to the GWIC Secretary (at stan AT ligo.caltech.edu). All submissions will be acknowledged; if an acknowledgement is not received shortly after the deadline, please contact the GWIC Secretary (gwic-exsec AT gravity.psu.edu). If electronic submission is impossible, please contact the GWIC Secretary (at gwic-exsec AT gravity.psu.edu) for instructions concerning paper submission. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++